Flagging the issue of overcrowding at a municipality primary school at Poonthottam in Viluppuram of Tamil Nadu, members of the School Management Committee (SMC) demanded additional infrastructure, on Monday, May 16. This comes as the school is packed with over 100 students in each of its five classrooms.
According to the SMC's petition, the primary school has only one building that could accommodate 226 students during the year 2020-2021. However, as the student strength doubled in 2021- 2022, it now is packed with 553 students. Further, the school does not have enough toilets, which sparks the need for an extended building to provide a safe environment for primary class students.
A parent of a six-year-old boy told TNIE that the children are forced to sit in a single classroom that is suffocating and uncomfortable. "Every day, children complain it is difficult for them to learn because of the congestion in the seating arrangement, which also reflects on their ability to eat and drink water during break hours properly. It is dangerous, so we need an immediate change in the school," she said.
Official sources said that the municipality commissioner would probe the issue, following which plans for an extended building will be finalised.
